New York City is an ethnic mosaic, the adopted home to newcomers from around the world. Global City NYC reporters tell the stories of how a few of these New Yorkers immigrated to America.

By Hilary Brueck

Pan American Airways was Lea Sarlande’s ticket to America from France. Almost 80 now, this former Pan Am stewardess is still flying, as a tourist.

By Camille Padilla

A doctor from Colombia finds a new career running a jazz house in Queens. At Freddy Castiblanco’s la Terraza 7, political activism and cultural dialogue are also part of the scene.

By Joanna Plucinska

Marian Meller is no stranger to struggle. When he moved to the U.S. from Poland 23 years ago, he couldn’t hold a steady job or even feed his family. Now, he runs two successful businesses and St. Vincent de Paul Pro Life Homeless, a charitable organization to help the homeless in Greenpoint.

By Vik Sohonie

Eve Murray moved to New York City from Haiti in 1990. Since then, she’s graduated from college and worked in the financial industry. But a change of heart led her to a career in cooking, and she now operates a small Haitian cafe on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

By Carly Marsh

Konstantinos Platis arrived in New York from Greece dreaming of a college degree. That was three decades, and many false starts, ago. Now he’s living his new American Dream, running the Tastee Diner in Astoria.

By Dorian Geiger

Born under the Khmer Rouge’s ruthless rule in Cambodia, Thoul Tong knew little about the genocide there until he went to school in New York City. Now, he’s both tantalized and repelled by the history of the homeland he hasn’t seen since childhood.